Chandon's former chef readies bistro

Bill Citara is The Examiner's food and wine critic.

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, November 26, 1997

Three months after he left his position as executive chef at Domaine Chandon, the Napa Valley restaurant he made into one of the Bay Area's best, Philippe Jeanty has landed on his feet - only a grape's throw from the Yountville restaurant/sparkling-wine producer where he spent the last 20 years of his culinary career.

Next March, Jeanty intends to debut Bistro Jeanty at 6510 Washington St., in what is currently home to The Brickhaus bar and restaurant. While geographically close to his former employer, Jeanty's new venture will be light years away in style from the lavish, tres elegant restaurant at Chandon. Instead, its owner says, the 80-seat eatery will be a "small neighborhood bistro where people know who you are when you come in the door."

The food, too, will be much different, though some of Jeanty's signature dishes from Chandon will be on the menu. Look for "homey, soul-warming" French cuisine that includes classics like cassoulet, in addition to a small roster of daily specials.

I'll be back with more details as the grand unveiling nears, but I'm tellin' ya: If chefs of Jeanty's caliber keep opening restaurants in the valley, pretty soon it will be better known for its dining than its wines.

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Coming this Friday to Corte Madera is haute cuisine you can take with you - tote cuisine, if you will. That's what Charlie Gregg, Bruno Schneider and Thom Fox will be dishing up at Parkside Tote Cuisine, an upscale, European-style deli with a difference.

The idea was conceived by Schneider, a former commodities trader and ex-pat Parisian who lamented the lack of restaurant-quality take-out in the Bay Area outside The City. He enlisted fellow Harvard alum Gregg, and the pair brought in Fox, who's cheffed at Fog City Diner and the late China Moon and Corona Bar & Grill.

Gregg says Parkside will offer dishes to go that range from "homey and hearty" (roasted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes) to "more adventurous" (grilled salmon with choice of three sauces).

But wait, there's more! Since Parkside's goal is to offer a complete restaurant-style meal for around $10 per person, the eatery will also carry a variety of fresh produce, locally made cheeses, wines, flowers, desserts and fresh-baked breads, plus choices for vegetarians, the health-conscious and kids, too.

And new to S.F. - its coming-out party is scheduled for spring - will be mc², a sleek, visually arresting, ultra-modern restaurant in the historic brick building at the corner of Pacific and Montgomery streets that was once the offices of famed attorney Melvin Belli. For those of you who flunked science (which is everybody I know), the unusual moniker is taken from Albert Einstein's famous equation, e=mc². (Don't ask.)

Owner is the San Francisco-based company Tarte Flambeãe; chef is Yoshi Kojimi, previously chef at Pacific restaurant in the Pan Pacific Hotel. Cuisine will be similar to Kojimi's cooking at Pacific, an eclectic mix of contemporary and traditional styles, borrowing freely from Asia, Europe and California. One of mc²'s specialties, according to project coordinator Peter Puetzer, will be the classic Alsacian tarte flambeãe, a light and sophisticated take on pizza: A very thin, crisp crust spread with white cheese and creme fraiche, instead of the typical tomato sauce, topped off with a variety of savory goodies.

As exciting as the food sounds, Puetzer says the eatery itself will be "the most modern restaurant in the [Financial] District."

All the worn and weathered brick of the original structure will be retained, though some interior walls will be taken down to expand and lighten the dining room. The facade will be large expanses of steel-framed glass; a small alley off Pacific Street will be glassed in and turned into a dining area. There will also be an exposed kitchen and pastry station.

Architect is Mark Cavagnero, whose projects have included the remodel of the earthquake-damaged Palace of the Legion of Honor and the San Rafael Theater in downtown San Rafael.

*

Well, Old Man Winter (the @#$%&*!!!) has finally hit the Bay Area big time. And as bad as it is for those of us who have warm, comfortable homes to retreat to, it's a helluva lot worse for those who don't.

So McDonald's of the '90s - World Wrapps - has initiated a

"Wrapps for Wraps" program. Bring in a clean, serviceable coat or blanket to any World Wrapps in California or Seattle and you'll get a free Thanksgiving Wrapp or Bowl. The object is to collect 2,000 coats and blankets, which will then be delivered to homeless shelters throughout the region. The program will continue until Dec. 31 or the goal is reached.

Just so you know, the Thanksgiving Wrapp or Bowl consists of grilled turkey, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, sage stuffing, cranberry-pear relish and toasted pecans. It will make you feel warm all over.&lt;

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